Are chickens protective of each other? I say yes.

I will use my hens names so it is less confusing (forgive me, my granddaughter named them not me lol) Hairball and Gladys were pecking on Elle, to my amazement Rosie (the biggest hen in my flock) jumped up onto the roost, put her wing over Elle and Rosie pecked at the other hens when they came by Elle. I have a video of this but don't know how to upload the video.

Chickens are quite amazing, that's why watching them is one of my favorite things, you don't see that kind of stuff unless you watch for a long time, they are way more complex than most people give them credit for.